WITTGENSTEIN'S CONCEPTION OF PHILOSOPHY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE TEACHING OF PHILOSOPHY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS (CURRICULUM; EGYPT)

The main purpose of this study is to analyze Wittgenstein's conception of philosophy in an endeavor to draw some implications for the teaching of philosophy in secondary schools. It is assumed that the analysis of Wittgenstein's conception of philosophy will provide some suggestions for the teaching of philosophy in secondary schools in general, and in Egypt in particular. Thus, the major questions of the study are: (1) What is the current status of philosophy as a part of public secondary school curriculum in Egypt?; (2) What is the conception of philosophy in Wittgenstein's early and later work?; and (3) What educational implications might be drawn from Wittgenstein's conception of philosophy for the teaching of philosophy in secondary schools in general, and in Egypt in particular?;Regarding the first question, the analysis showed that the problems of the current curriculum of philosophy are largely due to the employment of inappropriate methods of teaching, the existence of inadequate content, the shortage of alloted time, the lack of focus on critical thinking and neglect of contemporary philosophies. Concerning the second question, it appears that Wittgenstein's early and later conceptions of philosophy seem to be constant and permanent throughout his whole work. With regard to the third question it appears that both Wittgenstein's conceptions of philosophy as an activity and as a therapy have useful theoretical and methodological implications for the teaching of philosophy in secondary schools. Applications of the concept of language-games for classroom discourse are also described.